The announcement made by the government a few weeks ago that it intends to privatise yacht marinas did not get as much attention as the ongoing saga with regard to another privatisation process – that of Malta Shipyards. This is understandable, considering that no unions are opposing the idea, but this nonetheless does not mean that the sector, which has so much potential for growth, should be ignored.

Yachting activity in Malta has already grown exponentially since 1989, when a formal yachting centre was established for the first time. Such activities were initially run by the Malta Maritime Authority, but new privately-run marinas have now practically doubled yacht berthing facilities. More marinas are also in the pipeline.

The first set of pontoons were floated at Msida in 1989 and increased in number two years later. For a number of years the facilities run by the MMA, including those at Ta’ Xbiex, Lazzaretto Quay in Manoel Island and Vittoriosa, made up the entire yacht marina sector in Malta.

Berthing space availability on the island increased with the development of private marina facilities such as that at Portomaso in the late 1990s. Later on, part of the MMA facilities between Manoel Island and Ta’ Xbiex was transferred on concession basis to the MIDI consortium, which is now operating the Manoel Island Marina. In August 2003, the Grand Harbour Marina in Vittoriosa, catering mainly for large yachts, also commenced activity.

The prevailing scenario and the growth potential of the sector led to the idea that the MMA should no longer act as an operator in the sector, but should detach itself and start fulfilling the role of a regulating body. With this in mind, last month the government announced that the marinas at Msida, Ta’ Xbiex and Gozo will be privatised, a process that is being taken care of by the Finance Ministry’s Privatisation Unit.

In so doing, the government was fulfilling a promise made in the 2006 budget speech when it was said that the government will consider the privatisation of yacht marinas because it “believes that the management of such marinas is not consistent with the regulatory role of the Malta Maritime Authority. This measure, while providing new opportunities for investment, will continue to strengthen Malta’s development as an international centre for yachting.”

This move, it was explained, is aligned with the government’s policy to continue to entrust operational activities to the private sector while limiting the role of the public sector to policy-setting and regulation.

The idea is to increase competition in the sector – and competition, as has been proved in many other areas, is always healthy. Added to this, the level of the facilities and of the services provided will be upgraded through more investment.

This however needs to be coupled with a new regulatory framework for MMA’s upgraded role, particularly in areas of maritime safety and environment protection.

The privatisation of yacht marinas will hopefully make Malta a more attractive place for the many yacht owners who ply the Mediterranean waters, as well as open up new avenues that will help to boost the economy, such as the possibility of yacht chartering and the provision of berthing spaces for super yachts during the winter. This will have a ripple effect on the tourism sector.

No date has as yet been announced as to the issuing of the call for tenders, but it is apparent that the interest in such an initiative is apparent. As said earlier, such a privatisation process is not a controversial issue as other similar initiatives were in the past and present, and therefore it is hoped that such an important sector will get the desired push to develop much more than it has done in the past 20 years.